US, Iran inch closer to deal, timing remains unclear

WASHINGTON/DUBAI – US and Pakistani leaders forecast a June 14 signing of a long-elusive framework agreement to end months of fighting between the United States and Iran, but Tehran cast doubt over the timing and hardline protesters in Iran voiced opposition.

Qatari negotiators flew to Tehran on the morning of June 14 as part of an effort to finalise the agreement, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

US President Donald Trump posted on social media on June 13 that the deal with Iran was scheduled to be signed the next day, his 80th birthday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing, to be followed by technical-level talks in the coming week.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, speaking before Trump’s post, was quoted by the state media as saying on June 13 it would “not be tomorrow” but could happen “in the coming days”. Iran’s Fars news agency, citing an informed source, said on June 14 that Tehran has not yet taken a final decision on the framework agreement, with reviews of its political, legal and technical aspects still ongoing at expert and decision-making levels.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that under the terms of the draft deal, the US would agree to release US$25 billion (S$32.1 billion) of frozen Iranian assets, while Tehran would agree not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.

Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier that after a framework deal is signed, the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies that Iran has blocked, would immediately be “open to all”.

Once the strait reopens, the US would lift its naval blockade, sources on all sides of the talks said.

Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme – a key rationale Trump has given for the war – would take place afterwards.

While US bombings have heavily degraded Iran’s military industrial base and damaged its military, experts say the war has only entrenched the dominance of Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

When the US and Israel launched the war, Trump called on Iranians to rise up and take over state institutions.

Even as the US and Iran appeared to be moving towards an agreement over the past two days, clashes have continued as the US military imposes a blockade on Iran and seeks to loosen Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which was the conduit for 20 per cent of the world’s oil shipments before the war.

Early on June 13, US forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading towards the strait, the US military said.

Israel, which stated it was not a party to the US-Iran deal, said on June 14 it had attacked Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs after it claimed the Iranian ally had fired three projectiles at northern Israel.

The exchange highlighted the precarious nature of the negotiations, with Israel saying it will retain freedom of operations in Lebanon while Tehran has made a full ceasefire there an important component of its demands.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clashed with Trump over US demands that Israel curb military action in Lebanon to allow Washington to reach a deal with Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on June 12 that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.

At pro-government rallies held across Iran on the night of June 13, residents and news agencies reported that hardliners opposed to the framework agreement voiced their dissatisfaction loudly.

A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad said some protesters chanted “Death to the compromiser” in an apparent reference to Araghchi. “Compromiser, resign, resign.”

Draft terms described by multiple sources indicate the US would begin releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on its oil exports, in return for Iran opening the strait.

“Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that is a requirement. It could be open with no tolls. As they do that, we will lift our blockade,” a US official said.

Next would come the de-mining of the waterway, the official told reporters, indicating countries in the Group of Seven major powers could have a role in this.

Iran’s nuclear programme would be addressed during a 60-day period of talks.

The senior Iranian official told Reuters on June 14 that Iran agreed to maintain the nuclear status quo, including no uranium enrichment or expanding of nuclear facilities, until a final deal was reached.

A US official said the agreement would ultimately lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, with its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to be destroyed and removed.

The senior Iranian official said the draft deal would allow Iran to dilute its enriched uranium inside the country.

An important US aim has been the removal of Iran’s enriched uranium, particularly the 440.9kg enriched up to 60 per cent purity that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimated Iran had before the first Israeli strikes on June 13, 2025.

That is enough, if enriched further, for 10 nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick, though how much of it remains is unclear.

Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear bomb and says its atomic programme is for peaceful civilian purposes. REUTERS